Barbaloot – Goofy meets serious in this obvious homage to Dawn of the Dead. As reporter Frank West, it is your job to helicopter yourself into the violent territory of Willamette and find out what’s going on. The tone of this game is a constant whiplash, moving from ridiculous weapons, moves, and characters, to serious plot elements and story. But don’t be fooled, it blends together very well. While you could just mow down zombies to your heart’s content, using a variety of items from full out guns to potted plants, skateboards, and nerf launchers, there are other goals for you to accomplish. Being a reporter, it is your duty to get to the bottom of what is going on, and spread it to the world, and these clues are linked to time-sensitive missions that must be completed before a certain time. Everything in this game is time sensitive, really, and it may be hard for you to rescue everyone and still complete the main questline. I personally find that part of the fun, as finding good routes and getting better weaponry largely reduce the amount of lost quests. Overall, an extremely solid game that’s both fun to finish the story of, and just mess around in.

Divekick

Barbaloot – Who ever has looked at a fighting game and thought “this is far too complex for me. i wish there was something much simpler.” Well, friend, Divekick is for you. Everything in Divekick is done through two buttons, a gimmick that feels like it would get old fast if it wasn’t so well designed. The game basically boils down to spacing and angles. It couldn’t get too much simpler. The whole game is a deconstruction and satire of fighting game culture, so expect to see a healthy spattering of memes and references throughout. Don’t let that deter you though, the game still has plenty of depth to go around. Not to mention it’s simple but charming artwork, and very good ost, and I think you’ll be falling in love in no time.

Dragon Quest IX: Echoes of an Elusive Age

ladyjuice – This is my first game of the Dragon Quest series. The story isn’t boring or repetitive and I always felt compelled to go through with it. I loved all the main characters in the game and felt they all had purpose and individuality. Game play was well designed, the only complaint I’ve had was that the enemies were always too easy. Very appealing art style and soundtrack. I’m looking forward to playing more from this series.

Until Dawn

ladyjuice – If you like horror movies you will really enjoy playing this cinematic game. You get to choose who lives and dies throughout the whole game making it worth more than one play through. A creepy setting, a cabin, and a group of teenagers are the perfect ingredients for a horrific time.